Just announced today. Bob Dylan is one of thirteen people who will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom this year, along with astronaut John Glenn, writer Toni Morrison, Israeli President Shimon Peres, and former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens. It’s considered the nation’s highest civilian honor (matched only by the legislative branch’s “Congressional Gold Medal”). The ceremony is reported to be planned for “late spring.”
Dylan’s received so many awards at this point that the announcement of yet another one might seem kind of ho-hum, but this is admittedly a biggie. Still, if they want him to attend, I think they’ll have to work around his concert schedule.